Test-mandate

JULY 2020

SOLUTIONS FROM

tech4.0 TO CHANGE THE WORLD

CONTENTS COVID‐29 FOCUS

21

IMPACT ON INDIAN POLITICS MMA‐KAS in association with NGPL and ORF held a panel discussion through webinar

DECISION‐MAKING IN DIFFICULT 25 EFFECTIVE TIMES A talk by Dr. Manu K. Vora

& GEO‐ECONOMIC 27 GEO‐POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF COVID‐19

6

Mr. M K Narayanan, former National Security Advisor, in coversation with Prof. Harsh V Pant

30 IMPACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY

FEATURES

Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Standing Committee on Labour delivered the talk

42

32 PM'S ECONOMIC PACKAGE

A panel discussion on the impact of PM's stimulus

35 COVID & ELECTORAL REFORMS

A Leaders Speak series talk given by Mr. T S Krishnamurthy, former CEC of India

DEMOCRACY IN COVID 38 PARLIAMENTARY TIMES A panel discussion with Mr N K Premachandran, Mr Naresh Gujral, & Prof G Ramesh

14 Leadership and Purpose in Turbulent Times

THE GALWAN CLASH A panel discussion on India's China strategy and China's great game

EDITOR

WOMEN IN POLITICS

Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM

A panel discussion on webinar

EDITORIAL SUPPORT Gp Capt Dr R Venkataraman (Retd) LAYOUT EXECUTIVE D Rajaram

Women in Leadership

POLITICS UNDER GENNEXT LEADERS A panel dicussion with young political leaders

SEIZING OPPORTUNITY IN TURBULENCE Mr. G D Sharma on 12 key management areas to focus

40 42 45 48

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COVER STORY

Prior to the crisis, Industry 4.0 was an area of great interest to many manufacturers. It was an exciting topic with huge potential benefits and was widely regarded as a ‘positive’ and future thinking topic. The business drivers of Industry 4.0 before the crisis were focused on competitive advantage, cost reduction, productivity, sustainability and innovation. The goal was to make well run businesses run even better.

A N CHANDRAMOULI NATARAJAN

T

he focus for many manufacturers now is survival first and foremost and beyond that, damage limitation. Therefore, at this point it seems insensitive and inappropriate to discuss Industry 4.0 in the way it was discussed before

the crisis. When we study the role already it is playing during the survival phase­ and what it can potentially play during the revival and post recovery phase, I am sure we all will be convinced about its relevance­which I propose to illustrate in the coming slides.

What are the macro & micro drivers & impact of the crisis on global manufacturing?

We have learnt from History that every global crisis creates a fundamental shift that affect government policies, consumer behaviour and industrial sectors for years to come. For example witness the World War 2, the Gulf War 1974, the 9/11 terrorism, the global financial recession of 2009, and now the Covid­19 Pandemic of 2020. After every major crisis, humanity has learnt how to survive, revive and recover into a “New Normal” life style.

In my view, there are at least 5 immediate effects of this crisis: •

The pandemic hit manufacturers in an unexpected and unprecedented way. For the first time in modern manufacturing history, demand, supply and workforce availability are affected globally at the same time.

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•

Social distancing and employee safety measures

﴾1﴿ Additive Manufacturing for Healthcare:

have put an additional level of pressure on

A world­leading UK specialist in custom prototypes and low­

manufacturers, as almost 50% of their workforce

volume production parts, called PROTOLABS, is using its

will not be available to perform their functions on­

unprecedented speed­to­market to help support the frontline

site.

•

While office employees and knowledge workers are able to shift to remote work as the default operating mode, most factories are simply not designed to be

•

battle against Covid­19: using its 3D printing, CNC machining and injection moulding expertise to produce critical parts for testing and ventilator masks. 3D printed ‘Charlotte’ valves

managed remotely and they lack the tools and

are being rapidly produced and shipped direct to the customer

infrastructure needed to support such activities.

ISINNOVA, who are producing kits that can be used to create

The pandemic presents a critical moment for global

a non­invasive ventilator mask.

supply chain and manufacturing­especially in North America and Western Europe. Being lean and globalized in structures, the Supply Chains of many companies became specifically prone to the epidemic outbreaks.

•

More

adversely,

the

coronavirus

causes

simultaneous disturbances in both supply and demand. It is clear from events unfolding before us that one of the major weaknesses is a lack of real­ time visibility across the business, to support critical business decisions.

It is true that the pandemic is causing not just manufacturers, but entire nations, to re­evaluate global supply chains. Japan has moved first; its national bank is allocating billions of dollars to assist its domestic manufacturers in

There are several international case studies of 3D printing, which many manufacturers are using to quickly meet the surge in demand for face shields (Boeing), ventilator valves (Isinnova), testing swabs (Form labs), and personal protective gear (Ford).

reshoring production from China. Subsidies will cover

3D printing offers considerable geographic flexibility.

relocation expenses and investments in labour­saving

Many Indian automobile manufacturers in 2 & 4 wheeler

automation (including robots). Likewise, Australia, South

industry adapted their facilities to manufacture ventilator

Korea, France, Germany and even USA has announced their

parts.

new intentions to bring back manufacturing into their own territories. On 12th May our own Prime Minister announced a mission to go Local in becoming a Self­Reliant nation in every segment of economy.

Is Industry 4.0 relevant in the backdrop of the crisis and how is it helping to manage the crisis right now?

﴾2﴿ Intelligent Robot for Disinfection Taken from design to sample production in just seven days Intelligent disinfection robots are helping to stop the spread of Coronavirus and other viruses in hospitals. As the spread of the virus began to increase, Head of SIEMENS China’s Research Group for Advanced Manufacturing Automation,

Technologies such as 3D printing, Augmented Reality,

asked himself what he could do to help control the infection

Drones, and Intelligent Robotics have played a vital role in

by leveraging cutting­edge technologies. His idea garnered

combating the Pandemic in the last 6 months.

immediate support from his managers at the laboratory for

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robotic applications, co­established by SIEMENS & AUCMA, the focus of which is on ‘developing special robots, unmanned vehicles, industrial robots, and intelligent equipment’. to prevent further spread of the coronavirus outbreak. ﴾3﴿ Augmented Reality, The New Normal

a.

Surveillance: Where individuals are not complying

COVID­19 will accelerate the business world’s move to

with the restrictions knowingly or unknowingly, law

Augmented Reality (AR) and other IoT solutions, as

enforcing authorities such as the local police or

companies look to adapt to a ‘new working normal’. Whilst

municipal authorities are using drones to monitor people’s movement and break up social gatherings

Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become a norm for office workers, physical specialists have embraced digital transformation to build ventilators, deliver crucial training to

that could pose a risk to society. b.

Broadcasting: loudspeakers

Drones

are

used

equipped to

make

with public

apprentices and solve production bottlenecks on automotive

announcements to keep people indoors, take

lines. This has been achieved by allowing remote experts to

necessary precautions, make social­distancing and

see the physical world in video and annotate objects during

wear a mask if stepping outside from home.

the call, using a smart phone, tablet or wearable technology,

c.

and prevent the further spread of virus, health

such as Microsoft HoloLens glasses. It enables them to capture

authorities are deploying agriculture spray drones to

every step of the process and create an interactive step­by­

carry out tasks like spraying disinfectant in

step guide for other people to follow, even in a factory thousands of miles away.

Disinfectant Spraying: To disinfect public spaces

potentially affected areas. d.

Medicine and Grocery Deliveries: Drones are

Traditionally, this would involve engineers travelling to

the safest and fastest ways to deliver medical

the factory, but suddenly it is made difficult due to social

supplies and transport samples from hospitals to

distancing and travel. The crisis has forced industries to adapt

laboratories and even delivering groceries to red zones where outside physical contact should be

quicker than it probably would have done under normal economic circumstances, but now having tasted the operational and financial benefits it can deliver, we can see a

minimum. e.

Temperature Check: During the peak of the epidemic in China, authorities were carrying out

major rise in adoption.

large­scale remote temperature measurement in most apartment complexes through the drones,

﴾4﴿ Drones, the Savior: In this war against this invisible enemy, drones play a key role by helping authorities and people in atleast 6 different ways

using infrared devices. f.

Temporary Hospitals: In several countries including China, Germany, and the United States, 9

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empty fields have been converted into temporary

effective platform for fast and efficient automation. The Dull,

hospitals to ease the pressure on hospitals that are

Dangerous, Dirty, Difficult and Distancing are the 5Ds for

already functioning at full capacity, both using

considering Robotic automation. Challenges caused by an

drones, for survey and illumination of construction

acute shortage of labor, changes in assembly lines, and supply

sites.

and demand level fluctuations can easily be overcome with

Last Mile Connectivity and Remote Maintenance: Drones

cobots. What are the major benefits and advantages of using

According to a new European aerospace study involving 320

cobots during the pandemic and beyond?

aerospace business leaders there is an increased appetite for ‘low space’ innovation­ over (53%) believe that commercial drone last mile delivery of products­ will be commonplace in next three years. Besides, Drones coupled with AR will be very useful for Remote Maintenance of installations in Mining, Power, Airline, Defence, and Oil & Gas.

Solutions for Recovery, Post­Recovery After the Pandemic ﴾1﴿ Robotics & Automation‐Cobots While job functions involving marketing, sales, management, finance, and R&D can work virtually, execution at the assembly line needs to start rolling out at specific

•

Social Distancing: By enabling humans and

physical locations and on time. The dependence on a migrant

machines to work simultaneously, cobots reduce

workforce in manufacturing belts across the country also

contact between human workers, allowing them to maintain safe social distancing standards.

•

Partial Automation: By identifying specific applications or processes to deploy cobots, instead of the whole plant, manufacturers can reduce capital expenditure significantly.

•

Quick

Deployment

&

Flexible

Redeployment: In this uncertain environment, many manufacturers need to repurpose their assembly lines to focus on different products based on the urgency of requirements. Collaborative robots are one of the fastest automation solutions on the market to deploy and even redeploy for new applications, with setup often taking less than a day. needs to be mitigated. By using automation in their plants and

•

Democratized Automation: Cobots help

assembly lines, manufacturers can overcome these issues.

bridge the gap between large and small

Collaborative Robots (cobots) are widely accepted as an

manufacturers in the world of automation. In fact,

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the

sheer

precision,

cost­effectiveness,

and

competitiveness that cobots provide are unmatched in a globally competitive environment.

•

Efficient Automation: An MIT Technology Review study found that there is an 85% reduction

“physical shift” of onsite personnel.

Enabled by real time data, AI­based insights and a range of communication and collaboration tools, coupled with AR, the “virtual shift” will help digitize and scale up the much­

in idle time when humans and robots work together, needed expertise across the organization and enable the onsite which goes to show that cobots are not only safe but workforce to become more focused, effective, and ultimately also effective in driving efficiency. ﴾2﴿ Robotic Process Automation Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is a technology that is integrated with business processes in order to optimise and automate repetitive activities, minimize human errors, and maximize agility and productivity. One well­known German automaker recently implemented RPA and successfully automated a total of 28 different tasks as illustrated. The automated activities are now undertaken 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

significantly more productive. ﴾4﴿Artificial Intelligence ﴾AI﴿ In difficult times, AI can help manufacturers increase operational efficiency and transparency across organizations with better monitoring, more precise and timely interventions and better quality control in order to build resilient and agile business operations with intelligence, insights and expertise.

For example, an AI application by IBM called Maximo Worker Insights puts compliance at the centre of safety, with the combination of advanced analytics and near real­time access to data from cameras, Bluetooth beacons, mobile phones, IoT wearable devices and environmental sensors, one can holistically manage both the facility and workers.

Machine learning and predictive data analytics have the potential to improve manufacturers at 3 levels, namely, the machine level, production cell level, and plant level through applications Predictive maintenance, Optimised supply chains, and Improved product and service quality.

Integration of Variou 4.0 Technologies

﴾3﴿ Remote Work & Collaboration

How to respond flexibly and efficiently to ever new challenges

Virtual work is not just for the office anymore; it is a new

and to make production future proof. When the crisis broke

reality that will fundamentally change the work environment

out, it presented a completely new situation not only for

in design, supplier quality, shop floor and after sales service. medical facilities and manufacturers of medical devices, but With social distancing measures in place, manufacturers may

also for all those manufacturing companies whose employees

lose up to 50% of their on­site personnel. We will see the rapid

suddenly had to work from home and no longer had access to

adoption of remote diagnostic, management and collaboration

many digital solutions or automation platforms. With the help

tools. This will result in the emergence of a “virtual shift” that

of simulation tools, products and production processes can

means a team of specialists will be connected remotely and

first be designed and optimized virtually ­before actual

constantly online­ in order to guide and support the reduced

production is set up and started.

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Highly innovative automation technologies, combined

Conclusion: Role of Industry 4.0‐ Way Forward

with digitalized product development, make it possible to

In the past decade, after the 2009 financial meltdown,

quickly develop and deliver tailored solutions through additive

advances in AI and IoT technologies have enabled tremendous

manufacturing in exceptional medical situations like the

efficiencies in predictability, capacity, availability and

current pandemic. The remote commissioning, maintenance

flexibility of supply chain and manufacturing operations. Up

and repairs of machines is now possible in a digitalized world.

to 2019, many of these technologies and solutions were seen

Sectors, such as the automotive industry, had to shut

as a nice to have. With the pandemic, from 2020 onward

down production for weeks when demand suddenly slumped, Industry 4.0 has a different role: to assist that more companies but they all adapted their production to provide urgently survive as seen already, to shorten the recovery phase and to needed components for medical devices. Many companies will

help return businesses to normal operations as soon as

now be considering ways to diversify their supply chains in

possible, provide the platform to develop new, and more

view of the risks posed by global trade and the desire to

resilient businesses in the medium to long term post­recovery

produce closer to their markets. They will then manufacture

phase. We should not neglect the opportunities of automation

in smaller quantities at decentralized locations. In order to

and digitisation while keeping our roots of labour intensive

meet these growing needs for flexibility, speed and

skills intact. Although, the degree of adoption may be varied

productivity, intelligent production is a must. And this, in

depending on the industry and the readiness of the companies

turn, requires automation and digitalization. Smart

to make huge investments at this time, and readiness of skilled

Automation solutions are enabling technological innovations

manpower to absorb the new technologies and applications,

used specifically to alleviate the effects of the virus. And they

the crisis has certainly acted as a catalyst to the transition to

make production processes so flexible, robust and efficient

automation, especially in building resilience among businesses

that companies can quickly and efficiently adjust their

for future disruptions. In the coming years, greater

production to demand, both during the crisis and afterwards. connectivity through 5g will mean significantly accelerated In the future, these technologies will help ensure that deployment of industrial IoT, including sensing, data companies can respond far faster and more efficiently to crisis

visualization, remote collaboration AR tools and AI­based

situations and changing market demands.

insights across their operations.

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Leadership and Purpose in Turbulent Times

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LEADERS SPEAK SERIES

The first talk under ‘Leaders Speak Series by Pond’s Veterans’ was delivered by Mr Nandu Nandkishore, Professor, Indian School of Business and former Global C Suite Leader with Nestlé S.A, mentor, consultant, venture capitalist and coach.

The event was held on 6 June 2020.

M

r V Balaraman, Past President, MMA and former MD, Pond’s India Ltd delivered the opening remarks wherein he highlighted the core values practised by Pond’s in a challenging environment that was

marked by government imposed shackles in the pre­liberalisation era. “Human resource was our only strength. We valued character and culture ahead of competence,” he reckoned.

He said that Pond’s India trusted managers and gave them the liberty to learn from failures. Talking about the transformation of young executives who joined Pond’s, Mr Balaraman alluded to George Bernard Shaw’s play, ‘Pygmalion’ in which Eliza Doolittle gets transformed from a poor flower girl into a sophisticated young woman. He recalled the heights reached by many professionals who had a stint in Pond’s and went on to don prestigious positions in India and abroad and spread the fragrance of business. Mr Nandu Nandkishore thanked Mr V Narayanan, Mr Balaraman and others under whom he learnt the hard lessons of management while working in Pond’s after his IIT and IIM graduation. He quoted from the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching: “When the master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved; next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised. If you don’t trust the people, you make them untrustworthy. The master doesn’t talk; he acts. When his work is done, the people say, ‘Amazing.’ We did it all by ourselves.”

“That was Pond’s and it reflected the culture of Pond’s,” said Mr Nandu. During his gripping address, he stressed the need for people to adapt to changing circumstances and to handle every crisis in a methodical way, staying rooted to one’s core values. He gave many examples from the corporate world of organizations that weathered many a storm and came out triumphantly and also of organizations that failed badly.

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Extract from his talk and the

the 20th century and the world became,

subsequent Q&A session are

all of a sudden a much smaller place.

summarized below:

This century has seen more change

The average life span of the 500 biggest

than the 20th century as this pace of

companies in the 40 years since 1960

change accelerates.

has come down from 60 to less than 20

Today, we can’t imagine life without

and now, it’s around 15. Today’s top 10

internet, social media, smartphone and

tech companies did not exist 30 years

online meeting platforms. Worldwide,

ago.

88% of the people go to bed with their smartphones. This is a behavioural

The Kodak Moment

The average life span of the 500 biggest companies in the 40 years since 1960 has come down from 60 to less than 20 and now, it’s around 15. Today’s top 10 tech companies did not exist 30 years ago.

change that has happened in the last ten

We grew up with the image of the

years.

world’s inventor of photography­

Change or Die

Kodak. For 130 years, they dominated

Adopting Digital

specialty chemicals and photography.

In 1998, there was one company that

We remember ‘the Kodak moment.’

history, at times of great change,

had the market leadership, with more

They invented the digital camera. But

according to Charles Darwin, ‘it is not

than 50% global market share of

where’s

the strongest or most intelligent who

analogue mobile phones­ Motorola.

survive; it is, the most adaptable to

Within one year, the technology

change.’ This is also very relevant in

In 1991, they decided to focus on

changed from analogue to digital.

business and the key lesson is:

digital photography; in 1998, they

Motorola too discarded the analogue

closed that business and decided to

version, retooled and adopted digital

focus on photographic paper. They

over the next twelve months, but could

decided to cut costs to compete with

not compete….

Kodak

today?

They

disappeared.

Fuji film but ten years later, they were gone.

The speed of technological change throughout the 20th century has been

If you look at the world’s natural

company­Nokia­ came in, whose core

leadership is to prepare the organisation

competency in the home market of

for change. The leaders should also

Finland was making rubber boots.

know that they should not change their

mobile technology and became the

change than the 50,000 years before

world’s number 1 in mobile telephony.

livestock,

etc

as

major

developments. Communication, radio, television, telephone, motor cycles, trains, cars and spaceship –all came in 16

Disrupt or be disrupted.

Therefore, the fundamental task of

century has seen more of technological

wheel,

today is:

In those twelve months, a new

They embraced the new digital

had agriculture, the development of the

Change or Die; or to re state it, the only choice we have

•

accelerating steadily. Arguably, 20th

that, during which (earlier) period we

•

They led the market for close to ten years

and

even

invented

fundamental values while adapting their value chain. Turbulence is a part of the new normal in technology, economy, global trade and visas. The latest addition to this list is the Covid­

the

19 crisis. We have no clue as to how long

smartphone. And then disappeared as

it will last. Perhaps, we may choose to

they lost to iPhones, Samsung and the

blame everything on the pandemic or

Android smartphones.

we can build scenarios and plan for

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each. This is a transition event in our history which people will talk about for the next 100 years.

Winners & Losers Every crisis has winners and losers.

In Covid too, there will be potential winners like anything consumed in­ Home

such

entertainment,

as

E­commerce,

Personal

care

&

Healthcare, Food Processing & Retail, Medical Supply & Services sectors and potential losers which are consumed ‘out of home’ like Tourism & Leisure, Aviation & Maritime, Automotives, Construction & Real Estate, Non Essential manufacturing, Financial Services, Education and Oil & Gas sectors. The struggling sectors have to adapt and reinvent themselves.

cost and focus on photographic paper

our brands. The entire value chain

but unlike Kodak, Fuji decided to put

rewarded us handsomely and gradually,

the money saved into their R&D and

our business grew up many fold. Today,

innovation efforts. Today, Fuji is a

Nestle is a 1.5 billion dollar company in

global leader in business. Kodak doesn’t

Indonesia, having bounced back from a

exist.

turnover of 200 million dollars in the year of crisis.

Indonesian Devaluation Crisis

A restaurant owner in Australia, In 1998, in Indonesia there was an who was given just 24 hours to close

The ‘Glass in the Glass Jar’ Crisis

economic crisis. Within 6 months, the

We were selling Nestle Baby glass jars in

down her outlet due the pandemic, exchange rate went from 2000 rupiah

France. In 2009, we discovered there

converted it into a grocery store and

for a dollar to 17000 rupiah. An entire

were pieces of glass in the jars due to a

thrived. Her advice to others: Adapt, segment of middle class went into

defective line. We quickly put a team in

adapt and adapt. When a crisis comes, poverty. Many companies closed down

place and traced the problem to just two

we can stick our head in the sand like an

and many laid off people. I was there at

batches. Some of the products from

ostrich or choose to face it.

that time with Nestle. We struggled to

these batches had already gone to the

maintain our supply chains and keep

market. We quickly alerted the

Wei Ji Mindset

our units running but at the same time,

authorities and customers; together with

There is saying in Chinese called ‘Wei

demonstrated our commitment to our

them, we retrieved the glass jars and no

Ji.’ It is represented by two symbols

core values. We did not lay off even a

one got hurt. The consumers responded

meaning Danger and Opportunity. A

single person. We ensured that our

very positively. Our customers in other

successful strategic response to a crisis

consumers got good quality products.

countries queried through social media

should view the disruption as a threat

In the first year, our business volume

if they too had to return their jars. We

and at the same time, as an opportunity. declined by 30%; we worked with our Like Kodak, Fuji Film too decided to cut farmers/ trade partners and invested in

clarified that the problem was restricted only to France and reassured them.

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A few days later, on a Friday

apparently to discredit the government

launched the product along with

evening at 8.30pm (normally big crises

and some multinationals in Chile. He

commercials that reassured them that

happen after 6 pm on Fridays; you can

tested some Nestle baby food products

we deliver the best quality at every

call this Nandu’s law!), I was still in the

and found that they were completely

stage: from field to the jar.

office when I got a call from our social

compliant with the local regulations,

media unit that Hollywood star Alyssa

FDA norms and Codex norms.

Milano who had 17 million followers on Twitter had tweeted, “In the US, Nestle is recalling their baby food ‘Gerber.’ So please return your Gerber baby jars to Nestle.” For no reason, the tweet had created a panic. We had to react immediately. Within 5 minutes, I responded to her on Twitter stating the correct position; the star was so gracious and retracted her tweet saying that the US products were fine; it was a localised issue in France and that the problem had also been resolved. We heaved a sigh of relief!

The below aspects are important in a threat response: •

Know

your

vulnerabilities.

Act

decisively.

were trace elements in parts per million of a pesticide called Iprodione, the limits of which were permitted in Chilean law.

According to European law, it was completely banned. The politician went to the government and complained. The government turned to Nestle and asked us to handle the issue. Questions were

Jim Collins, for his book ‘Great by Choice’ studied several companies over a period of 20 years. He says that good luck and bad luck will keep alternating but those who show resilience succeed.

In my life too, I had many successes and failures. The roots of all of my successes lie in my failures. We should always convert a problem into an opportunity.

raised to us: “Are you telling us that

You need to be personally resilient

European babies are more important

with a measured response that separates

than Chilean babies? Why do you have

panic / despair and thoughtfulness. You

double standards?” We don’t. In every

have to build a support network and

single place, we comply with the local

embrace uncertainty. When others

laws and regulations. The product was

follow an ostrich response, you might be

perfectly okay. But still, we recalled the

the only one who balances a threat

facts

and

product and reformulated it over the

response and an opportunity response.

Stop

the

next six months. That is when we

So, never waste a good crisis. The

launched a new initiative.

response to a crisis makes the difference

bleeding.

•

He discovered in our product, there

Resilience, the Key Differentiator

Speed

is

important.

between great companies and also­ran Project Saturday

companies. It is also true for individuals

According to this project, irrespective of

and leaders. The Covid crisis is going to

the local law, for each parameter, we

be a watershed moment in our species’

decided to go with the strictest among

history. You have to ask yourself: What

Chilean Vs European Babies

the local, European and US regulations.

will my legacy be? Will I be of proud of

It was Christmas 2010. I was in Chennai

We started with the baby products and

the choices I made 20 years hence? For,

to be with my mother. I got a call from

slowly, worked its way through all

our choices define us. Despite so many

our Chile country manager of Nestle.

Nestle products. We communicated and

disruptions and disasters, the 20th

She said, “Boss, we have a serious

addressed the emotional concern of

century has been, by far, the safest. If

problem,” and explained it. A politician

consumers. We worked with the farmers

we look for greatness in the world, it

used a local lab to test our product,

and the pesticides they used and re­

will get better and better.

•

Know your core values and purpose.

•

18

Protect your consumers.

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Insights from the Q&A Session: a)

As companies grow in size and

10 Rules for Crisis Management

business, the corporate leader should focus on 4 things that

1﴿

Recognise and accept the crisis. Don’t panic.

are very important and help

2﴿

Get a crisis team in place with relevant skill sets and communication experts.

create the culture, which in turn determines how well strategy is

3﴿

Appoint a Devil’s advocate to challenge group think.

executed. (You May have heard,

4﴿

Determine the gaps and put a process in place. Separate facts from

“Culture eats strategy for

opinion. Focus on what you can control. Have a scenario plan for what

breakfast”. Well this is what it

you cannot control.

5﴿

means): *

* *

Remind yourself of the core purpose, values and core strengths which you will not compromise.

Strategy of the company. Are they a box of constraints or are

6﴿

Recognise if there are opportunities.

they stretch oriented?

7﴿

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

Processes: Do they focus on

8﴿

Take action and ensure flawless implementation

compliance or discipline?

9﴿

Study the lessons learnt and redesign your processes.

Leadership: Does it revolve

10﴿ Have regular simulations and scenario planning to prepare BEFORE a

around

controlling

crisis.

or

supporting people? *

Team dynamics: Do they run based on contracts or trust?

b)

c)

d)

must ensure good governance.

An individual’s values and

option. Corporate leaders must

There are different styles of

company values should be in

respect their employees and

governance. The board must

alignment.

make sure that people have a

ensure that the operational

Decision making: Leaders

dignified exit. Though Airbnb

management

place,

should know to separate facts

and Uber took some tough

appropriate to the stage of

from opinions to arrive at good

decisions, their responses were

business. We come across

quality decisions.

appreciated because of their

people

many

Leadership across places:

heart­to­heart communication

companies’ boards and they

Leaders must focus on values.

and the intent shown. The

may not be able to do justice.

Across

the

global chairman of JW Marriot

In India, people are reluctant

fundamental values – for

spoke to all employees about

to be independent directors

instance, respect, integrity and

the situation. There are bad

because of liabilities and legal

trust ­ do not change. Human

examples too. Some companies

responsibilities.

is

beings are not so different.

have fired employees over a

definitely a lot of opportunity

Their underlying values do not

zoom chat. That’s not the way

to raise the standards of

change. Leaders must keep

to do things. This crisis will

governance.

separate great leaders from the

Dealing with Employees in

ordinary.

cultures,

their word, listen and be honest

e)

f)

is

sitting

in

in

There

and transparent. Culture

Covid Crisis: In a worst case

impacts strategy. A leader

scenario, rather than laying off

should work closely with both.

people, salary cuts starting

Governance: Board members

from top level will be a better

One cannot keep on running a loss making unit. I have closed down some units and had the misfortune of laying 19

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

off employees. But in every single case

urban areas. For effective

Mr V Balaraman thanked Mr

that I handled, I have tried to look

management of the crisis, not

Nandu Nandkishore for an enticing talk

people in their eyes, talk to them

only national leaders but also

and summed up saying that corporate

corporate leaders and the

leaders must lead from the front, be

rationally, discuss their exit plan and

people should act in harmony

treat people with grace.

and

Behaviours of consumers will change because of the crisis.

*

Leaders must try to protect the vulnerable during this crisis.

*

There has to be different strategy for semi­urban and

20

a

conducive

environment. Singapore has

Covid Management, in general: *

create

been an inspiring role model. *

available and visible in a crisis. He recalled that India had come out of many crises well.

Leaders must maintain their

He promised to collaborate with

sanity and balance in their

the Madras Management Association

perspective. They must keep communicating, or else, fake news will fill the vacuum which is dangerous.

(MMA) and bring in more leaders of Pond’s lineage to follow sound management principles, especially in these turbulent times.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

21

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

COVID‐19: Impact on Indian Politics MMA­KAS in association with NGPL and ORF held a panel discussion through webinar on 3 May 2020.

The Panellists: *

K Pandiarajan ­ Hon’ble Minister for Tamil Language, Culture­ Government of Tamil Nadu

*

N K Premachandran ­ Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Kollam Constituency)

*

PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan ­ Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu

*

Prime Point Srinivasan ­ Chairman & Managing Trustee­ DiJAI moderated the discussion.

Extract from the Panel Discussion:

Lockdown Blues

Whether they will be able to work here

He cautioned that people’s compliance

is a delicate matter. Definitely we have

to lockdown should not lead to

to find some ways to rehabilitate the

authoritarian governments at the

foreign returnees.”

Centre and States. “The civil rights, Mr N K Premachandran, Member of Parliament

M

political

rights

and

even

On the much­touted Kerala model

the

of Governance, he said, “People talk

fundamental rights are being infringed

about the Kerala model of Governance

r Premachandran said that

upon, because of the pandemic

where the power is decentralised up to

after the Second World

situation,” he said.

the local panchayat level. This has been

War, such a disaster has

He suggested that each State has to

made possible by raising the standard of

not struck throughout the globe. He

focus on self­sustainability through

living, thanks to the remittances made

evinced pride in the fact that in the

sustainable development.

by NRIs so far. Therefore, at least now,

Indian lockdown experiment, the entire nation of 1.3 billion people are united in their fight against Covid­19. This is a unique political experiment, thanks to Covid­19 management.

“As Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation said, the soul of India

we have to think about rehabilitating the returning NRIs.”

lives in villages. More attention needs

Mr Premachandran expressed his

to be given for agriculture and rural

opinion that management of the

development,” he felt.

pandemic will be a major issue in the

According to him, the Indian

next elections. “Post­Covid, India has to

political scenario has to be dissected and

Migrant Labour and Returning NRIs

take head­on two vital issues namely

analysed in three distinct phases – the

Regarding movement of migrant

unemployment and poverty and without

pre­Covid phase, the current phase and

labourers and return of NRIs, he

addressing these, any growth in terms

the post Covid phase. He said that the

strongly felt the need for effective

of figures will only be notional,” he

state of Kerala has learnt a lot of lessons

intervention. He said, “Most of the

summed up in a nutshell the agenda for

from its own practical experiences.

returning NRIs will be above 40.

the government.

22

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

of jobs. “What will happen to jobs,

Tamil Nadu government in tackling the

especially in the unorganized sector? We

pandemic –serving free food to the

say India is highly entrepreneurial and

public through Amma Canteens,

almost 18% of the people here earn a

increased testing and tracing, gearing

Mr K Pandiarajan, Hon’ble Minister for Tamil Language, Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu

living by doing something on their own.

up the entire government machinery,

How much support, freedom and push

organising task force for tapping FDI

can the governments give to different

investments and doing continuous

r Pandiarajan felt that we

sections to engage in entrepreneurial

course corrections.

need to debate on issues

activity?“ he wondered.

M

like the unipolar world

attempt by China in the geo­political

Tamil Nadu and Covid Management

transition, the political realignment of

“The Tamil Nadu government will be

the world and if India will matter in the

engaging with the industry on restoring

comity of nations, emerging either

normalcy,” he promised. He argued for

stronger or weaker post COVID.

more autonomy to the States and

He listed out as the second dominant theme in his mind, the nature

decentralisation of power.

He listed out the steps taken by the

Regarding FDI, he said that the state government has set up a task force at the instance of 5 countries­ Japan, Korea, Singapore, US and Taiwan and hoped that they will deliver results.

“Post Covid­19, I believe India will emerge stronger. We have a strong national identity today. That will drive us,” he said.

23

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

change or era of shifting events,” he said

On talks of likely FDI inflows, he

and shared his views on a range of

opined that it could be misplaced

issues:

optimism.

“I hear of companies exiting China

Focus on Governance "This Mr PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu

M

r

PTR

crisis

changes

people's

expectations of politics as opposed to governance.

We

are

seeing

a

fundamental distinction between the

Palanivel

kind of campaigning and sloganeering

Thiagarajan said that we

and rabble­rousing as opposed to

are all shaped by our

actually governance; Covid will change

experiences. He recalled his own

the nature of people's expectations of

experiences with multiple kinds of

the learnedness of their politicians.

seismic events. “I was in the World Trade Centre when the planes hit on 9/11. I was a senior executive running the subsidiaries of Lehman when the global financial crisis started. I was part of India and the demonetization that crippled our economy,” he said.

Drawing a parallel from the 9/11 crisis, he said there were no elaborate screenings in the airport before 9/11 incident. “Things changed drastically after that. Similarly, post COVID, we may encounter around multiple screenings in airports. We have to live with the new normal.”

Alluding Covid outbreak to a watershed event, he said that this crisis is a before­and­after kind of separator.

“Only 10% of the impact is known to us now.

and about the scope for India and Tamil Nadu. I am an ex­investment banker. I've run large trading business with hundreds of billions of dollars balance sheet and transactions a year and I find it hard to imagine a scenario in which we can attract FDI, with this much uncertainty in the world and the lack of execution skill that India has shown. How long will it take for FDI to

One of the reasons that Germany

have an impact on employment? This

has been such an effective handler of the

is not a realistic short­term solution,”

crisis is that their leader is a scientist.

he said.

She understands complex models and is able to use that in decision making. The

Old Order Should Change

speed at which leaders react and the

He added, “Politics is not only about

nature in which they react is going to

learning, but also driven by people who

shift after this crisis,” he said.

have compassion. Politics is not a

On devolution of power, he

lifelong career; the system needs change

commented, “The notion of centralized

and evolving leadership. The grassroots

versus distributed models of governance

level politicians stay put for too long,

is going to become very starker. We can

choking the pipelines and thus blocking

see the difference between Tamil Nadu

fresh blood.

and Kerala. In Kerala, the devolution

In his opinion, the governments

has been all the way down to the

­both in Delhi and Tamil Nadu­ have

panchayat level.

one main task– to find the poorest and

The average panchayat level

weakest sections of the society and try

executive or committee or councillor in

their best to revive demand and bring

Kerala is significantly more empowered

back their balance sheets to some level

than the one in Tamil Nadu and that is

of neutrality.

The consequences of shutting down

a fundamental component of the

“If we don't do that, we are going to

the economy even partially are going to

outcome that they've been able to

see consequences for years to come,” he

be so humongous. This is an era of

achieve.”

cautioned on a serious note.

24

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

E f f e c t i ve Decision‐Making in Difficult Times

"It is not enough just to make decisions.

We need to diagnose the decisions...

He explained how in personal life, there are so many opportunities for decision

making

starting

from

schooling, taking up a job, buying an automobile, clothing, selecting a sport, going for vacation, shopping, financial investments and so on. Similarly, he listed numerous opportunities for decision making in profession in the areas of hiring, on boarding, training, giving initial assignment, performance

MMA & Konrad­Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) presented a lecture on the topic, “Effective Decision Making in Difficult Times” through webinar on 15 April 2020. Dr Manu K. Vora, Chairman & President, Business Excellence, Inc., USA and Fulbright Specialist, U.S.Department of State, USA (2016­2021) delivered the talk.

P

feedback, professional

coaching,

mentoring,

growth,

promotions,

terminations, capital projects, team formation and strategic planning.

Dr Vora thus laid out the vast canvas of decision making and then detailed out various models as tools for

eople make decisions all the

and that ‘decisiveness is what makes a

arriving at decisions ­ like tree diagram,

time. The quality of those

good manager.’ He explained with

Steven

Covey’s

Urgent­Important

decisions is often in question ­ examples and personal anecdotes,

matrix, basic decision models: scientific,

even by those who make them. Dr Vora

decision making in personal and

ethical, economical, political, habitual,

provided both background knowledge

professional domain. He discussed

etc. He listed out 9 steps to effective

and practical models to prioritize and

decision making avenues during Covid­

decision making. How can we conquer

make decisions. He started with popular

19 pandemic like social isolation,

indecision? “Failure to execute is the

quotes on Decision Making. He quoted

personal hygiene, avoiding outside trips,

single greatest cause,” he stressed.

Lee Iacocca to drive home the fact that

seeking medical assistance, looking after

“Beyond a point, plans are not relevant

a decision taken must be ‘acted upon’ the elderly and avoiding rumours.

and they need to be implemented.” It is 25

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

not enough just to make decisions. We need to diagnose the decisions that we made and distill them into good and bad decisions. The lessons learned will help us in future decision making. Dr Vora gave many simple tips like taking one issue at a time, prioritizing and making use of 3H (Head, Heart and Hand) in decisions. The lecture provided useful insights for the participants to fulfill their vision, mission, and goals and empower them to do well in their professional careers.

26

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

WORLD

Geo‐Political and Geo‐Economic Consequences of COVID‐19

MMA in association with ORF and KAS presented a live Fireside Chat on the theme “Geo­Political & Geo­Econo­ mic Consequences of COVID­ 19” featuring Mr M K Narayanan, Former National Security Advisor of India (NSA) and Former Governor of West Bengal in conver­ sation with Prof Harsh V Pant, Director, Studies & Head of Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi on 29 April 2020.

27

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

The Speakers were: *

Mr

Peter

Rimmele,

Resident Representative to India,

Konrad­Adenauer­

Stiftung *

Mr

Christian

Honourable

Hirte,

Member

of

German Parliament *

inwards even more than what has been

M.K.Narayanan under three

the case in the recent past. Rather than look beyond its borders, nations will

broad areas: * *

The geo­political impact of

focus on their narrowly defined national

Covid­19

interests.

The geo­economic impact of India’s position, post Covid­19

“In times of crisis, leadership is the key.

He remarked that even before the

Unfortunately, across the world we have

advent of Covid­19 crisis, tectonic plates

a leadership vacuum. There is an

Research Foundation, New

of the global politics were shifting and

absence of leaders who can think

Delhi

that the pandemic has clearly exposed

beyond their immediate problems and

the Chinese vulnerability.

well

V

Strategic

Programme

Mr

M

former

Pant,

K

at

Studies Observer

Narayanan,

National

Security

*

beyond

their

immediate

“There is a great shift taking place,

surroundings,” Narayanan observed and

we are moving from the global order we

added that the US is faltering and for a

have known since 1945 to a new global

variety of reasons, it has been retreating

Head of Observer Research

order, an extremely uncertain one,”

from the world stage for some years

Foundation, Chennai

remarked Mr. M.K. Narayanan. He

now. This has created a big vacuum.

Adviser of Government of India Mr N Sathiya Moorthy,

“In times of crisis, leadership is the key... There is an absence of leaders who can think beyond their immediate problems and well beyond their immediate surroundings,” ‐ M K Narayanan

28

contours of his chat with Mr

Leadership Vacuum

Harsh

the

*

be that nations are going to look

Covid­19

Prof

Director, Studies and Head of

*

P

rof Harsh V Pant set the

outlined the new emerging global order.

“There has been a total failure of

“The new world order is no longer

international organisations, such as the

dominated by the US; China is to some

United Nations and WHO, to step up to

extent in the driving seat and most

the present challenges. WHO has been

other countries are badly bruised by

charged with grossly underestimating

Covid­19 and the global recession,” he

the pandemic,” he said and commented

said.

that to rebuild or repair institutions of eminence, we need great leaders but

Globalisation in retreat According

to

Mr.

such leadership is missing today.

Narayanan,

globalisation has undeniably been in

Geo‐politics Worse than Geo‐

retreat for some years now and the

Economics

corona virus pandemic is likely to

“In some ways, the geo­political

exacerbate this process. He felt that

situation is far more threatening than

though there is a lot being said about

the

international

and

Narayanan stressing that leadership of

international community, one of the

a nation gains precedence over the

devastating impacts of COVID­19 will

nation’s economics.

cooperation

geo­economics,”

opined

Mr

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Assessing the geopolitical landscape,

COVID‐19: An Opportunity for India?

and added that political clout doesn’t

Mr Narayanan felt that the European

Narayanan felt that it’s wishful thinking

always rely on economic growth.

Union is struggling with its own internal

to believe that India can exploit

problems; Other than Angela Merkel of

opportunities created out of companies

Future of Pakistan‐India Relations

Germany, the EU does not have a

trying to move out of China. Countries

Given Pakistan’s refusal to join the

promising leader. Post­Brexit, the UK

like Vietnam are more likely to benefit

SAARC video conference, Narayanan

too is weakened. West Asia has been in

from it than India.

was

asked,

if

India­Pakistan

relationship had a future.

shambles for some time now and the

He explained that though India has

region is set to face further difficulties

the resilience to survive the crisis, it is

“Every relationship has a future.

due to the oil price meltdown. Russia, he

not in a position to exploit it because of

India can deal with Pakistan and it has

felt, may not be severely affected. India

its economic downturn.

to deal with Pakistan” Narayanan

could have offered some leadership but is handicapped by its economic situation, he argued.

While China is undoubtedly trying to fill the leadership vacuum, Mr Narayanan felt this was not the situation that the world wanted to be in. According to China

has

been

very

important in terms of restricting the spread of the virus but economic

China: Black Swan to White Swan

him,

“Lockdown

should

have

been

stigmatised for its failure to alert the world in time about the virus. It first identified and detected the virus COVID­19 in Wuhan in December 2019, but sounded the alarm only in January 2020, Narayanan pointed out.

“Having had an early recovery, China is now trying to exploit the situation by utilising its manufacturing capability into an advantage sending out masks and PPE to Asia and Africa.

Instead of helping the affected

capacities have bottomed out. China holds all the cards, what are the cards that India holds?” he asked.

Reordering Foreign Policy Priorities

stated.

Maintaining Relations with China Having

been

a

foreign

policy

practitioner and China expert since the sixties, Mr Narayanan stated that China will not be happy with India’s efforts to gain influence in South Asia.

Looking ahead, Narayanan felt that

“However, China will not look to get

India’s foreign policy had invested far

into a conflict with India. Rather, it will

too much in the US. The world is

look to constrict India in its

changing in crucial ways; India’s foreign

neighbourhood and isolate it from the

policy and its diplomatic efforts need to

rest of the world,” he added.

reflect these new changes.

He also said that China recognises

To hitch our wagon to the US now

India’s intellectual strength. Therefore,

would be unfortunate,” he said. He

maintaining good relations with China

recommended that India needs to

will be India’s biggest foreign policy goal

strengthen its position in South Asia

and challenge and which will throw up

and SAARC has to be brought back.

challenges as well as opportunities,

“India has to be seen as the glue that

requiring deft handling.

keeps SAARC together.

To conclude, Mr Narayanan said,

countries, it is trying to exploit the

It is imperative for India to

“India is too important a country to be

opportunities. It is attempting a change

strengthen itself in South Asia, only

side­lined in the world. India should

from being a Black Swan to a White

then will the rest of the world will see it

strive to be a beacon of light to the

Swan,” cautioned Mr Narayanan.

as a leading power, said Mr. Narayanan

world.”

29

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

He also allayed fears that Disaster

CURRENT AFFAIRS

COVID‐19: Impact on Indian Economy

Management Act would be misused by the states to quell labour and public rights. “We are in an emergency now, facing a war­like situation. All our executive decisions taken now need the approval of legislature or Parliament, as applicable, after 3 months and within 6 months. After this, anyone can question the decisions in a Court of Law,” he told.

He was also appreciative of the Government’s efforts in ensuring that there are no starvation deaths due to the crisis. “Our granaries are full. The government has provided three months ration to all the needy people. It has also transferred money to the Jan Dhan accounts of poor people,” he informed.

State of The Economy:

MMA­KAS­ORF in association with NGPL & Presense presented a talk under “Leaders Speak Series” through Webinar on the theme “COVID­19: Impact on Indian Economy” on Friday, 15 May 2020. Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Standing Committee on Labour delivered the talk.

Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab said that at present, the state of the Indian economy is worrisome.

According to him, the relief measures and the stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crores is a welcome measure

M

r Bhartruhari Mahtab

Pandemic Management:

spoke on the pandemic

“The lockdown announced by the

management in India and

Indian Prime Minister was a right

the current economic situation. As

decision taken at the right time and

Chairman

of

Parliamentary

without which Covid­19 would have

Standing Committee on Labour, he

exploded on a much larger scale in

He expressed satisfaction at the

discussed the proposed labour reforms,

India,” argued Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab

Prime Minister’s prescription of ‘Aatma

the migrant labour problem and

and said that all the Indian states have

Nirbhar’: Self Reliance for India and

measures that have to be put in place to

done reasonably well in managing the

went on to suggest that we should also

prevent a recurrence of the problem, in

pandemic, using the provisions of

aim for Self­ Independence or

future.

Disaster Management Act.

‘Swawlambi.’

30

the

and he is hopeful that the Finance Minister’s

various

announcement,

detailing the relief package, would put money in the hands of the common man and help revive the economy.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

optimistic that the present labour reforms in the form of 4 Codes, when implemented, will benefit all the workers. He also appealed to all the states to use technology and maintain a live and updated database of migrant workers.

Centre‐ State Relations: In sharing of the Central funds among the states, he expressed his opinion that the Union Government is not doing justice.

Labour Reforms:

enterprise factor. That will be disastrous

He gave an overview of the numerous

for the nation and economy,” he

and archaic labour acts that are in force

warned.

and about the Union Government’s labour reform initiatives whereby the

Migrant Labour Problem:

labour ministry has decided to

Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab traced the

amalgamate 44 labour laws into four

origin of the migrant labour problem

codes—on wages, industrial relations,

that resulted post lockdown and which

social security and safety, health and

according to him is very unfortunate

working conditions.

and should not have been allowed to

On the present status of these acts,

happen.

However, as a true national leader, he said, “I love my state, but I love my country more. So I respect the Finance Commission, which is the constitutional mechanism in place.” From his vast experience,

he

felt

that

many

bureaucratic tangles between the Centre and the States can be resolved smoothly if the State Chief Minister or Chief Secretary has a direct dialogue with the Union Government.

he said that the code on wages has been

“The industries should have taken

approved by the Parliament and the

care of the workers but as the units were

Positive Initiatives:

other three are in the process of getting

shutdown, the migrant workers wanted

Mr Bhartruhari Mahtab said that the

approved.

to go back to their homes and with lack

Union Government’s initiative of JAM

of conveyance, they started walking

(Interlinking Jan Dhan account,

back,” he explained.

Aadhaar number and mobile number)

“These codes, when passed, will immensely benefit the labour force and make industries to strictly comply with

Going further into the roots of the

has proved to be a big boon, especially

the provisions,” he assured. He was also

problem, he said that in India, only

in reaching out to the poor and migrant

pragmatic when he said that the growth

about 8% of the labour force is in

labour. He also gave thumbs up to the

of industries depends on two sides of

organised sector. The rest, a whopping

Finance Minister’s announcement that

the coin – namely, labour, on one side

94% are in unorganised sector and they

“One Nation, One Ration Card,” will

and enterprise, on the other. “We

are not covered properly under the

soon become operational and which will

cannot focus on labour and discard the

social security acts. He sounded

greatly help people on the move.

31

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

remarkably reluctant to lend. “Nothing

POLITICS

has changed to remove that risk

PM's Economic Package: Different Strokes

aversion. Measures like the suspension of IBC will make the banks even more reluctant,” he noted. The Centre has come up with sovereign guarantee for loans extended to MSME. This, he felt, addresses the problem partly but the execution remains to be seen. He said, “The statement of intent is there. But the details are missing.”

According to Dr Narayan, the lockdown was well timed but the government grossly failed to see the migrant labour issue coming up. “This and the resultant pain could have been

MMA­KAS in association with ORF presented a talk under “Leaders Speak Series” through Webinar on the theme “PM’s Economic Package: Different Strokes” on 26 May 2020. *

Mr P Ravichandran, Sr Vice President, MMA delivered the welcome address.

* *

easily avoided. The lockdown, however, gave two to three months time for the government to prepare better and take the disease head on, with an armoury of PPEs, face masks and ventilators,” he

Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India of Konrad­

said. He added that the recovery rate of

Adenauer­Stiftung delivered the Introductory Remarks.

close to 40% is good and our death rate

Mr R Srinivasan, Editor, The Hindu BusinessLine moderated the

is low compared to other countries, if

discussion with Dr S Narayan, IAS (Retd), former Economic Advisor to

official data are correct.

Prime Minister.

M

Dissecting and analyzing the PM’s

r R Srinivasan drew

Commenting on the stimulus

economic stimulus package of 20 lakh

attention to two recent

package of Rs 20 lakh crores, he

crores, Dr Narayan sounded an overall

studies –one done by

observed that after a detailed analysis,

note of optimism. He broadly put the

SBI’s Economic Research wing and the

the actual size of fiscal stimulus is less

package into 3 boxes, namely:

other by CRISIL. Both have reported

than 10% of what is announced. The rest

*

Survival

that our economy is falling off a cliff;

comes from the monetary measures

*

Revival and

Next year’s GDP growth will be ­6.5%

announced by the RBI, more in the

*

Growth.

and the next quarter’s GDP will shrink

nature of potential for injecting liquidity

Under Survival, he listed out the

by 25%. “This,” he said, “is the direct

in the economy. He lamented that RBI

announcement of one nation, one ration

result of lockdown which started in the

depends on the banking system to

card for public distribution system.

last week of March 2020.”

deliver and that our banks are

This, he said, is a big reform and will

32

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

to look at small industries and localized and dispersed industries?”

He said that we are self sufficient in PPE, face masks and ventilators.

“Pharma industry is ramping up. Large imports of China will get reduced.”

Dr S Narayan and Mr R Srinivasan debated some of the important issues facing the nation, in a freewheeling chat.

Suspending Labour Laws: help the migrant labour immensely.

He also emphasized that we have enough food stock. Additional funds

infrastructure like food processing, cold chain, etc augur well for revival of agriculture.

allocated for MGNREGA will help the migrant labour who go back to their

some BJP state governments to suspend

villages. He pointed out that banks have

many labour laws temporarily, for a

automatically increased the working

period of 3 years. Though this is not the

capital limit of MSMEs by 20% without

right way, this will help in more

asking for any collateral. Also, he

employment opportunities for the

commended

migrant and returning labour and be a

easing

the

monetary strain of NBFCs by providing

boon

them credit guarantee to the tune of

government’s initiative of ‘One district,

45,000 crores.

one skill,’ by which each district will be

Under Revival, Dr Narayan pointed out the proposed amendment to agricultural product marketing act and taking out many things from essential

to

labour law or suspending some of the provisions is not labour reform but implementation is real reform. Labour

He pointed out the efforts taken by

Centre’s

Mr Srinivasan said that doing away with

FDI.

He

lauded

UP

developed with a particular skill of people– for example, Kanpur will focus on leather industry, Banaras on textiles, etc.

rights have to be respected. Dr Narayan added that the present archaic labour laws need to be changed, so that the industries can comply with them, without resorting to circumventing the laws.

This will help to reduce the 90% unorganised labour force in the country and solve many of the issues like the ongoing migrant labour problem.

Only Supply Side Stimulus?

Mr Srinivasan noted that the PM’s stimulus package focuses only on the

commodities act. These measures will

Under Growth measures, he opined

supply side and demand has been

open up the agricultural markets in a

that the government perhaps feels that

neglected. Dr Narayan suggested that

very big way. He even bracketed this

the 1991 reforms were inadequate. “The

the government, as a short term

step with the 1991 reforms. “This will be

91 reforms provided openings for large

measure, should put money in the hands

a big thing for agriculture, similar to

industries to grow. When big industries

of the people by way of dole outs.

what happened for industry in 1991,” he

grow, it leads to wealth and GDP

observed. He also said that pumping of

growth. There is now a paradigm shift

Outdated Budget?

a lakh of crores into agri based

in government’s thinking. “Is it possible

Mr Srinivasan said that the Union 33

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Budget announced in Feb 2020 is no

sectors. Pharma industry will do well.

longer valid. Dr Narayan also agreed

FDA will give more approvals to Indian

and suggested that the government has

formulations. Food and food processing,

to come up with a revised budget, as

agriculture related businesses and

many of the assumptions in the budget

logistics will pick up.

are no longer valid.

Middle Class Woes: Mr Srinivasan referred to the sharp reduction of manpower in the organised sector. There have been job losses, pay cuts, rationalization of work force, etc

Real estate and construction and automobile industry will have a tough time. IT industry will save a lot of money by asking people to work from home (WFH) for 2 to 3 days in a week.

This will be the new normal.

left to the states. They don’t have money. Their main sources of income, namely taxes from fuel and liquor and land registration charges have been affected. GST compensation is also delayed.

Dr Narayan agreed that many states struggle to even pay salaries. The states must be allowed to borrow at reduced interest rates from the centre.

The Centre should not link it now

which have increased the pressure on

Centre –State Finance:

middle class people. It doesn’t help

Mr Srinivasan pointed out that the

The States should also seriously look

consumption. Dr Narayan noted that we

lockdown was imposed by the Centre

at their expenditure and prune their

need to look at this issue from specific

and the exit from lockdown has been

freebies to restore fiscal health.

34

to reforms like Power sector reforms.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

STATECRAFT

Covid19 and Electoral Reforms MMA in collaboration with Konrad­ Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) presented a panel discussion under ‘Leaders Speak’ series on the theme, “Covid­19 and Electoral Reforms” through webinar on 3 June 2020. ORF and NGPL were the event partners. The expert talk was given by Mr T S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.

G

roup Captain R Vijayakumar

schedule in November 2020 in Bihar will

way of bringing them down would be to

(Retd),

give a good platform to introduce Covid

have more of digital meetings and use of

related reforms,” he stated.

social media in a responsible way, rather

VSM,

Executive

Director, MMA welcomed the

participants.

Mr

Peter

Rimmele,

Resident Representative to India of KAS delivered the introductory remarks.

Contending that no democracy in

than meeting people in person. This will

the world is perfect, he pointed out

also help in checking the spread of Covid­

mature democracies like Germany, 19.

Mr T S Krishnamurthy dealt in his

Australia, UK and US, despite having

address the compelling need for

problems, are able to resolve issues by

introducing several reforms in the Indian

discussion and debate and not though

electoral scene, especially in the post

violence. He stressed that electoral

Covid­19 phase. He said that the need

reforms must happen in Asia and Africa.

for electoral reforms is often talked

State Funding: While he appreciated the German system of State funding of elections, he suggested public funding for India with 100% tax exemption. This, he argued,

about but rarely do the ideas that are

Digital Meetings:

would bring in transparency and

expressed get implemented. “Covid­19

He listed out India’s main problems in

discipline and curb black money.

has given us an opportunity to take up

elections as political corruptions,

The limits now imposed on

many reforms. The upcoming election

intolerance, hatred and criminality. One

expenditure of a candidate is flawed in 35

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encouraging parties to nominate good candidates, this has not served its purpose, according to a study, he pointed out and suggested that continuation of NOTA needs to be reviewed.

Internet & Mobile Voting: In the post­Covid phase, due to social distancing and other restrictions, he recommended to opt for internet voting in a limited way, for certain categories of the absence of any limit for spending by

anti­defection law and they wreak havoc

the parties, he pointed out. He was firm

by forming unholy alliances and toppling

in denouncing the electoral bond scheme

governments. He strongly made a pitch

now in place, citing total lack of

for barring independents in state

transparency. “Though they are routed

legislatures and introducing laws to

through banks, the source of money is

regulate

not questioned.”

elections.

them

in

parliamentary

people including NRIs, senior citizens, physically challenged, diplomats and people from armed forces.

He also suggested introducing mobile polling booths so that voters, especially senior citizens need not commute to vote, exposing them to the virus in the process.

Law for Political Parties:

Devolution of Power:

Though Indian Constitution is one of the

“Democracy survives only when the

longest, Mr Krishnamurthy highlighted

power is devolved,” he said and

the glaring omission of reference to

recommended

political parties in the constitution.

governments with adequate powers to

While acknowledging that at the time of

manage themselves and raise resources

independence, this could have been

should become a reality. This, according

“Even many foreign countries have

acceptable whereas now, we definitely

to him, will prevent concentration of

come and seen the robustness of the

need laws to regulate political parties.

power either at the Centre or with State

machines,” he said and regretted that

The recognised parties should be limited

governments and vastly bring down

when a politician or a party loses power,

to a few serious contenders. The frivolous

corruption.

EVM becomes the scapegoat.

ulterior motives should be de­recognised,

NOTA:

One Nation, One Voting:

he argued.

At present, there exists an option called

“This is very attractive,” said Mr

NOTA – None of the above in voting

Krishnamurthy and added, “Unless the

Checks on Independents:

where the voter can reject all the

constitution is amended such that the

In the same vein, he also said that

candidates. Though this was introduced

Parliament and State Legislatures have

independents are not covered under the

with

fixed tenures, this is not possible.”

that

local

self

Electronic Voting Machines ﴾EVM﴿: He made a strong pitch for continuance of EVMs saying they are the pride of the nation and that they are completely tamper­proof.

and non­serious parties, formed with

36

the

positive

intention

of

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Election Duration:

both of them as serious flaws in our

He strongly recommended that national

election system.

elections should be completed within 3 weeks, except for J&K and some sensitive states and that they should be limited to three phases by deploying adequate manpower and paramilitary forces. “The last elections in West Bengal were conducted in 6 or 7 phases and this is totally unacceptable,” he said.

“Paid news should not at all be allowed. If a candidate has benefitted from paid news, he should be disqualified and a law has to be framed for this,” he suggested referring to a Supreme Court recommendation made in a case.

Deserting Pre‐Poll Alliances: Observing with regret that it has become a practice among parties to form an alliance before poll, win the elections and after winning, ditch the alliance and form new alliances of convenience, he strongly made a case for discouraging this practice through law. “People who voted for the alliance are being fooled by political parties,” he

He also said that social media has to

said. To arrest this, he suggested that

Social Media and Paid News:

channelized and used effectively and there

the parties should face an election

Strongly denouncing paid news and lack

has to be a monitoring and regulatory

should they decide to drop out of pre­

of regulations on social media, he pitched

mechanism to check its misuse.

election alliance.

37

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

Parliamentar y Democracy in Covid Times

Madras Management Association (MMA) in collaboration with Konrad­Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) presented a panel discussion on the theme, “Parliamentary Democracy in Covid Times” through webinar on 23 June 2020. ORF and NGPL were the event partners. The panel comprised the following distinguished members:

G

roup Captain R Vijayakumar (Retd), ED, MMA welcomed the

panellists

and

the

participants. Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India of KAS delivered the introductory remarks.

“Parliament is the beating heart in

*

Mr N K Premachandran – Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (From Kerala)

*

Mr Naresh Gujral – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

*

Prof G Ramesh – Professor – Public Policy, IIM Bangalore

Germany,” he said and underlined that Parliament can never be independent of the Executive.

Mr M R Madhavan – Co­Founder & President, PRS Legislative Research moderated the panel discussion. He highlighted the functions of Parliament and stressed that though Parliament’s

38

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

monsoon session should commence in July, considering the extraordinary ground situation due to Covid­19 pandemic, the resultant economic crisis and other issues, Parliament should have been convened by now.

He listed out many countries where Parliaments meet through digital platforms.

Mr N K Premachandran, MP pointed out that there has been no meeting of Parliament since 27 March. It is a big gap, he reckoned, citing various highly critical issues like the pandemic management; NRIs stranded abroad,

Mr Naresh Gujral, MP was also of the strong opinion that Parliament should meet immediately, preferably in an indoor stadium in New Delhi to ensure

“When Parliament works, all government departments work in a frenzied way. It has to be seen how these support staff can be mobilised,” ‐ Prof. G Ramesh Indo­China and Indo­Nepal border

physical distancing. He felt video conference for 543 members may not be feasible yet. He batted for increasing the number of working days in a week and

frenzied way. It has to be seen how these support staff can be mobilised,” he said and cautioned that people above 60 should be taken care of. Concluding the discussion on a very positive note, all the panellists agreed on the following: *

Parliamentary standing commi­ ttees should be convened

extending the working hours of

without further delay; this can

Parliament, to manage disruptions due

be done digitally and if possible,

to the pandemic. “Democracy cannot be

through physical meetings.

kept in suspended animation,” was his

*

Parliament must be convened; the

fervent pitch.

government

has

to

deliberate on how it can be

issues, financial package announce­

Prof G Ramesh highlighted the high

ment, etc. Avoiding Parlia­ment, he

attendance of Canada Parliamentarians

argued, will lead to autocracy and

when they participated through virtual

Parliaments function, their

warned that ‘absolute power corrupts

meetings. He was firm in saying that

outcome and challenges.

absolutely.’

technology and connectivity should not

He suggested measures like video conferencing and meeting of Parliament on alternate days. Net connectivity in India and data security are big challenges but, he agreed, they can be managed.

be a major issue as we now do many mission critical jobs including online banking and online stock exchange operations, in a secured manner.

“When Parliament works, all government departments work in a

done and decide. *

*

We can learn how other

We

have

never

seen

a

pandemic of this magnitude since independence. So we need to pool in and find a way out to see that Parliament functions and democracy in India is alive. Where there is a will, there is a way.

39

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

G

roup Captain R Vijayakumar (Retd), ED, MMA welcomed the

panellists

and

the

participants. Mr Peter Rimmele,

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Resident Representative to India of KAS delivered the introductory remarks in

The Galwan Clash

which he said that all the neighbours of China are uneasy in dealing with it and that China’s image has taken a beating after its less than transparent action in dealing with Covid­19. He said that in Europe, the thinking is to exclude China in major contracts and added that the US also exerts pressure on Europe in this direction. However, he reckoned that China is an economic powerhouse and cannot be ignored. He highlighted the role of KAS in promoting democracy and internal order. “We need to work with our partners and find common

Madras Management Association (MMA) in collaboration with Konrad­Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) and The Peninsula Foundation presented a panel discussion through webinar, under the ‘Strategic Leadership’ series, on the theme, “The Galwan Clash: India's China Strategy and China's Great Game” on 26th June 2020. The panel comprised the following distinguished members:

solutions,” summed up Mr Peter Rimmele.

Air Marshal M Matheeswaran (Retd) moderated the Panel discussion.

He pointed out that Chinese aggression has been going on steadily from 2010 onwards. While in 1980, both India and China were at the same level of growth,

*

Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, Former Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy

*

Ambassador G Parthasarathy (Retd), IFS, Chancellor of Central University, Jammu and Former Indian High Commissioner

*

China strategy needs recalibration.

Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd) pointed out that India shares 3488 km

Lt Gen Kamal Davar (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, Former DG,

border with China and the Eastern

Mr Mohan Guruswamy, Former Advisor to Finance Minister & Former MP, Rajya Sabha

40

today, he stated and argued that India’s

to Pakistan Defence Intelligence Agency

*

China’s GDP is 6 times that of India

sector has been a perennial problem area. He lamented that despite China’s super power ambition and strategy,

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

India has always been naïve with China. ”Forget the sweet talks. Always be wary of the wily, crafty China,” he said and cautioned that the present situation is very serious. He remarked that the Indo­China border is now manned by ITBP and Special Frontier Force; instead, he advised a singular command to be effective. “We should follow ‘One Border; One Force’ policy” he insisted.

Ambassador G Parthasarathy (Retd) said that strategic containment of India is integral to China’s political thinking. He felt that India can hold China and no further territorial gains should be allowed. He pointed out that

China strategy. “We need to engage with

singled out the government’s Sagar

China diplomatically and expose to the

Mala project as a good initiative but

world about China not agreeing to any

noted that not much progress has

LAC,” he said. While China has vastly

happened.

huge employment opportunities.

rise. “We have lost the plot after

too should build our Comprehensive

“The whole world made China rich in the last 25 years, doing vast trade with them and shifting many production facilities to China."

National Power and also strengthen

‐ Mohan Guruswamy

space even in vital sectors like Telecom,” he said.

He suggested that like China, we

that

augments our security but also provides

Jinping, China has had a remarkable

heavily from China and given them huge

advised

strengthening maritime power not only

under the aggressive leadership of Xi

liberalisation and started importing

He

Mr Mohan Guruswamy traced the genesis of the problem to China’s superiority complex and their natural dislike for India. “The whole world made China rich in the last 25 years, doing vast trade with them and shifting many production facilities to China,” he noted.

maritime security, pursue diplomacy,

Denouncing the jingoism against

leverage on Quad group to exert

boycotting Chinese products, he drove

pressure on China, mobilising all anti­ Chinese forces on a single platform.

He underlined the importance of

improved

its

military

strength,

technology and production, he regretted

home the ground reality that we now depend heavily on China.

that for over 70 years, India has avoided

He said that this is a wake­up call

making a national security strategy and

to bring in land and labour reforms, so

our politicians are more focussed on the

we can attract FDI and ramp up

Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd)

elections. “India should have a Minister

production facilities in India. He batted

insisted that India should have a clear

for Defence Production,” he argued. He

for long term military policies.

India’s strategic partnership with Germany.

41

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

G GENDER

Women in Politics

roup Captain R Vijayakumar, Executive Director, MMA introduced all the speakers.

Ms Kavitha Chitturi delivered the welcome address. Mr Peter Rimmele of KAS delivered the introductory remarks in which he spoke about the rise of women in politics in Germany and Europe and the challenges they face. He emphasised that the society has a strong responsibility to support women in politics.

Ms

Lakshmy

Ramakrishnan,

moderated the panel discussion. She eloquently summed up women power: “When women lead, the virus loses,” drawing reference to a recent article that detailed out how women leaders from Germany to Kerala have delivered efficient, effective and empathetic responses to the pandemic. “The

MMA in collaboration with Konrad­Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) presented a panel discussion on the theme, “Women in Politics” through webinar on 18 June 2020. ORF and NGPL were the event partners. The distinguished speakers on the panel were: * * * * * * 42

Ms Kavitha D Chitturi, Joint Managing Director, The KCP Limited Mr Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative to India of KAS Ms Kushbhu Sundar, Spokesperson, Indian National Congress Ms Nupur Sharma, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party Ms Rehana Ameer, Elected Member of Common Council, City of London Corporation Ms Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Actor, Film­Maker and Activist

reasons for their stellar show are easy to comprehend,” she said. “Women are natural care givers, open to expert opinions and team players.”

Ms Kushbu Sundar of Congress said that a series of cases filed by people in 2005, to vilify her for an opinion she expressed, provoked her to join politics.

She said she single­handedly fought the cases. After the Supreme Court ruled in her favour, she joined the DMK party.

She wondered if a person like her with a successful record in film industry and having a solid platform could be rattled by political parties, then what will be the plight of lesser mortals. She decided to

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raise her voice for women by joining politics.

She praised the role of late DMK leader Mr Karunanidhi in mentoring her. She did not regret leaving DMK later on, to join the Congress party. She said that women politicians have to be courageous and need the support system from their families.

Education, according to her, is not a bar. “Do not give more than two terms to any politician,” she suggested and batted for more youngsters in politics and 50% reservation for women in parliament, to promote gender equality.

Ms Nupur Sharma of BJP said she was 23 when she joined politics. “It was my calling,” she said. Finding it tough to balance her lucrative profession and

"I wanted to break the stereotypes, while retaining my individuality and conviction. That’s how, I took my plunge into politics in 2016." ‐ Rehana Ameer

her role in BJP legal cell, she gave up her Supreme Court practice and became a full time politician.

“Instead of becoming somebody, I

Nupur acknowledged that the late

wanted to do something and give back

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj inspired her

to the society. I wanted to break the

for her people skills and memory.

stereotypes,

“To be in politics, one has to have a

while

retaining

my

individuality and conviction.

She advised young women, “Be who you are; be accountable to the environment. Take things as they come along.”

Summing up, the moderator Ms

good education and make oneself

That’s how, I took my plunge into

known,” Nupur said. She pleaded for

politics in 2016,” she said and added,

domain experts in bureaucracy and for

“Democracy is a way of correcting

restructuring the UPSC system. “Talk

historic wrongs.” She acknowledged

less, do more,” was her counsel to

that the ecosystem in London

aspiring politicians. Ms Rehana Ameer

recognises individual talents and

of London Corporation said that though

competencies. She suggested that men

she hails from a traditional background,

in power should have adequate data

She concluded that the right

her parents gave her good education and

before framing policies concerning

time for women to enter politics is

plenty of freedom.

women.

–NOW.

Lakshmy Ramakrishnan brought out the commonality in all the three panellists–of finding their calling in politics, to be the change agent, the urge to give back to the society, never to give up and to promote diversity.

43

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PANEL DISCUSSION

Politics Under GenNext Leaders

G Mr

roup Captain R Vijayakumar, Executive Director, MMA welcomed the participants.

Peter

Rimmele,

Resident

Representative to India of KAS delivered the

introductory

Priyadharshni

remarks.

Rahul,

Ms

National

President, Next Gen Political Leaders (NGPL) and Advocate, Supreme Court moderated the panel discussion.

Extract from the panel discussion:

Mr Tejasvi Surya Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

MMA in collaboration with Konrad­Adenauer­Stiftung (KAS) presented a panel discussion on the theme, “Politics under Gen Next Leaders” through webinar on Friday, 29 May 2020. ORF, NGPL and PreSense were the event partners.

The distinguished political representatives on the panel were:

T

ejasvi Surya touched upon the influence of family legacy in Indian politics and how it

offsets a level playing field and becomes a barrier for young politicians.

Asked to comment if one should choose to be in a profession before entering politics, he said, “There are more variables than constants in

*

Mr Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from BJP

politics. For a youngster, to depend on

*

Dr V P B Paramasivam, Member of Legislative Assembly,

politics for bread and butter is a huge

Tamil Nadu from AIADMK

challenge. It is therefore better to be in

Mr Rangarajan Mohan Kumaramangalam, Working

a profession or business to insulate

*

President, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee

oneself from the vagaries of politics.” He stressed the need for a clear and consistent ideology and personal 45

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

discipline to take on the adverse impact

would mention about two types of

learn from all the leaders who made an

of the variables.

leaders­

pursues

impact on the polity, irrespective of

‘siddhi’ (enlightenment) and the other,

their party affiliation and timeline,” he

Navigating Social Media

‘prasiddhi’ (fame). Those who work for

suggested.

When queried about the influence of

the former will progress steadily while

social media in boosting a politician’s

latter category will flatter to deceive.

chances and strategies for increasing

one

who

On tips for building one’s image, he said that in politics, unless a product is good, no amount of image makeover

“...It is It is therefore better to be in a profession or business to insulate oneself from the vagaries of politics.” ‐ Tejasvi Surya

will help. If the person has dedication, stocks will go up. He quoted a verse

Dr V P B Paramasivam Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu

from Bhagavat Gita which espouses one

Mr Paramasivan said that young

to maintain equanimity in success and

entrants to politics need not necessarily

failure.

aim for an MLA or MP’s post. They can

passion and equanimity, naturally his

Youngsters, Come on Board! the number of followers, he said, “Social media can help in amplifying one’s work. But it cannot substitute brick and mortar work on the field.” He added that social media is a powerful tool which politicians must definitely make use of, to communicate effectively and reach out to large number of people.

He was emphatic in saying that youngsters will have a big role to play in Indian politics and taking India forward, blended with guidance from senior leadership. “For a long time, people had been confusing maturity with seniority. It is wrong. Young people can be matured and far more

start working from the panchayat level and gradually move up the ladder. He corroborated from the experiences of his own party men. “In AIADMK, our late Chief Minister J Jayalalitha had established a culture that anyone in the party, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, economic status and family legacy can grow in the organisation, if he/she is committed and performing.”

However, he warned about the

responsible,” he stressed and quoted his

pitfalls of social media. “On social

own Lok Sabha election experience.

Youngsters are Tech‐Savvy

media, one day they will praise you sky

“My campaign team had a bunch of

As a young politician, does sitting with

high and on the next day, they will

youth – all in the 20­something age

political veterans and stalwarts in the

dump you down the drain,” he said and

group. Everyone said that it’s a recipe

Assembly, unsettle him? “No,” he

advised

for disaster. But I won by a record

replied firmly and added, “I have been

margin.”

elected by nearly a lakh of people. They

politicians

to

maintain

equanimity.

Siddhi Vs Prassidhi He referred to Prime Minister Modi’s talk to the young and upcoming politicians in his party in which he 46

When asked about the influence of

have reposed their confidence in me and

Mahatma Gandhi in his life, he said

that gives me the courage to face the

many leaders including Gandhi, Nehru,

Assembly. In fact, I could get more

Ambedkar and others made a huge

funds for my constituency than many

influence in his life. “Politicians can

seniors.” He said that youngsters can

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

appetite for risk,” he felt and said that politics is a full time activity. He suggested that passive income would help young politicians to fall back upon in case one ends up in financial trouble pursuing politics. “Balancing a full time profession / business and politics can be extremely challenging,” he cautioned. Asked if Congress party identifies the right people and trains them, he said that the youth Congress has a system in place and conducts training to political aspirants. handle challenges better than seniors through personal drive and usage of technology. He advised young aspirants in politics to visit libraries, read a lot and be familiar with Parliament / Assembly proceedings, party history and ideology. “You should be willing to

politicians need a combination of economic, social and political capital.

Family legacy can help a candidate in getting some social and political mileage. But that alone will not suffice, he contended.

learn from seniors, even if they belong

According to him, economic capital

to the opposition party.” He batted for

is a major barrier for entrants to

universal health care, ensuring uniform

politics. He argued for removing this

quality of education across the country

barrier through state funding of

and phased closure of government run

elections and electoral reforms. At

liquor shops.

present, election commission imposes limits on the election expenditure of a candidate. This, he said, is highly impractical and should be scrapped. He regretted that power is now getting more and more centralised. The reverse

Mr Rangarajan Mohan

should

Kumaramangalam Working President, TNCC

“Presidential form of governance is not

M

He however dismissed suggestions

happen,

he

pleaded.

good. We should move towards

r Rangarajan Mohan

devolution of power right up to the

Kumaramangalam

panchayat raj,” he said.

"We are moving away from ideas and towards personality‐oriented politics..." ‐ Mr. Kumaramangalam on making educational or training as mandatory qualifications for political entry. “If you contest and win an election, you become qualified. It is as simple as that,” he said. “We are moving away

from

ideas

and

towards

personality oriented politics which is not good for the nation. Every politician should be given his/ her space. We should be open to ideas and practise the art of compromise,” he expressed.

“Many are not even interested in knowing about the parties and the candidates who contest. This is

differed with Mr Tejasvi

Surya on the impact of family legacy in

Need for Risk Appetite

unfortunate and must be remedied,” he

electoral politics. He said that

“Political entrants should have a high

pleaded.

47

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with partners across; re­establish

BUSINESS IN 2020

relationships with their lenders,

Seizing Opportunity In Turbulence

alliances and the society at large; and restructure the business and the organisation to support the re­booted

12 Key Management Areas To Focus On

strategy. Business must go on. So, an all­out effort to turn 360 degrees on its axis, from an ‘Inside­out‘ to an ‘Outside­In‘ perspective holds the key.

The traction outside the business is so strong that it must be entirely factored­ in to rejig the business model and the Organisation to support execution.

Re‐affirm the Purpose, Culture & Values ﴾and the Pride for the Company, its Products & Services. ﴿ In these times of ambiguity about what

First of a 2­part Article on key areas that Management must address to respond purposefully to challenges posed to Business Enterprises during these COVID times

needs to be done, and uncertainty about the future, we must re­instill confidence and pride in the Company, its Vision, its Core Values, and in its Products &

G. D. SHARMA

I

business are addressed, and a fine balance achieved. These are :

Services. Core Calues define the priorities of a Business and shape the culture of the company.

Business Continuity and Re‐

And, after all, it is when the

n these times of COVID­19, the

commencing Operations

business is under pressure that we

world has been pushed towards a

In these unprecedented times, all

demonstrate who we are to our

new normal in every sphere of life

businesses are facing issues they have

customers, employees, suppliers and

– economic, commercial and social.

never

The

other stakeholders. It is at this time that

When companies are resuming work

disruption caused by COVID­19

we have to instill pride in what we stand

amidst a proliferation of negativity and

outbreak

and

for and do; and to boost confidence

pessimism all around, Management, and

significant, impacting every business

amongst stakeholders. It is very

Leadership in particular, must ensure

and its supply­chain – customers,

important for the workforce to feel the

these must­DOs (to keep the wheels of

suppliers, employees, investors and

positive vibrations on a daily basis, and

business running), to ensure that both

lenders. Companies are having to re­

to reassure themselves that all is well

the hard and soft dimensions of the

discover their customer base; re­align

and that “we shall overcome…“.

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encountered are

before.

far­reaching

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Communicate, Communicate and

As a sequel, HR must facilitate

employee involvement, such areas

Communicate, Right Upto The Last Mile

Re­definition of Roles, and

should be identified for greater buy­in

I am fond of saying that there is nothing

examine whether to eliminate,

known

as

over­communication!

Communication across the length and breadth of the Organisation, and to the last mile of the workforce is the need of the

•

reduce, modify, replace or refresh

roles,

and

role

definitions and scope. This must­do for today’s times.

that have taken a cut in their salaries or

Manage Paradoxes & Finding a Balance

it a very inclusive and involved process

Life itself is full of paradoxes and

down the line to capture ’what and how we

dualism. Business & Management are no

should be doing’ is the secret. This

exceptions. A best practice, therefore, is

approach is bound to build confidence

for Leadership to strike a fine balance

down the line, strengthen every­one’s

between what must be done now and

involvement

team­spirit.

what must be borne in mind for the

Communication has got to be a continuous,

longer term; between the imperatives of

consistent and all­encompassing in

business requiring valuable employee

frequency, content and scope.

contribution & productivity, and the need for empathetic considerations for

Help Employees Re‐Disover Meaning

their safety, health and well­being;

In Their Work.

between effectively managing costs and

HR must facilitate connecting

the need to conserve and preserve talent;

individual jobs to the greater

and between efficient execution and

cause. Identify what purpose drives indivduals to achieve the results that they seek, and how it connects to the super­ ordinate goal. Students of Management are familiar with

expectation management, and so on.

Strategy; Bad Costs that do not align

is it that you are doing? The

with the growth strategies of the

third mason responds by

Company, and Best Costs that help the

saying ­ I am bulding a

company in building its competitive

or Policy Deployment, as a

earlier, only bad costs need to be tackled in this fashion and therefore employee cost should only be the last option.

All in all, we are in these exciting times of a crisis which is a unique opportunity to explore new avenues and new horizons. We must leverage the huge potential of our people and their ideas to emerge victorious in the marketplace. With so much negativity all around, it is the mindset that makes all the difference – to be able to see the bright side of things. As Richard Bach has said – “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can."

types of Costs in a Company ­ Good

respond to the question, what

established like Hoshin­Kanri

restructuring initiatives. As mentioned

I have known that there can be three Costs that are needed to support

revisited and re­alignment

even lay­off as a response to business

Managing Costs as a Significant Initiative

the story of 3 masons who

Cathedral. Goals have to be

Channel Partners, and to strangthen the Supply Chain. We hear of companies

are doing what we are doing’; and making

•

supporting their Vendors, Contractors,

can help build a tight ship, a

hour. Transparency in conveying ’why we

and

and ownership. Companies are today

advantage. Bad Costs need to be re­ allocated to business­building and institution­building initiatives. More so

lean management method, in today’s times, many cost management opportunities exist, and through total ensures.

(Author is a class‐topper from the 1979 Batch of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Senior HR Professional with over 40 years’ Corporate, Consulting, Mentoring & Teaching experience. He can be reached at ‐ beelinehr@gmail.com)

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